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Real Vision: Finance & Investing

Nick Kokonas: Derivatives Trader Turned Fine Dining Visionary

Real Vision: Finance & Investing

Real Vision

Investing, Business News, News, Business

4.11.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2021

⏱️ 113 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Interview: Nick Kokonas, founder and CEO of Tock, joins Jason Buck, co-founder and CIO of The Mutiny Fund, to share the lessons he has learned on his path from a derivatives trader, to a restauranter, and to a technologist and fine dining innovator. Kokonas recounts his beginnings in finance in Chicago's trading pits, where he witnessed firsthand the perils of selling tail-risk, or extremely out-of-the-money options. Kokonas and Buck exchange outlooks on options trading and "the Greeks," before Buck prompts Kokonas to share how he founded restaurants such as Trio, Roister, and Alinea (the only restaurant in all of Chicago to retain three Michelin stars). Kokonas shares how identifying and solving the multitude of problems that befall the restaurant industry let him to create Tock. Recorded on March 19, 2021. Key learnings: Most restaurants waste a tremendous amount of time and money, and Kokonas uses the skills he gained as an options trader to spot inefficiencies and innovate in common practices such as dropping checks, making reservations, and ordering ingredients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Are you ready for a Monzo Business Bank account?

0:03.3

Heather from the Accountors' Growth Club was?

0:05.3

Knowing what cash I have is really important.

0:08.0

And Monzo Business makes it easy.

0:09.8

It automatically puts 20% of my income into a tax pot.

0:14.0

When it's time to pay your VAT, I always know the money's there.

0:16.8

If you're ready for a Monzo Business account, apply today.

0:19.9

Just search Monzo Business.

0:21.5

Only sole traders or limited company directors in the UK can apply.

0:25.0

Get tax pots with Monzo Business Prove for £5 a month.

0:28.1

Keys and C's apply.

0:59.1

What do you do for living?

1:00.1

How in the world do you answer that?

1:01.1

I actually have an answer for this.

1:03.1

I say I'm a writer.

1:04.1

And then they say, what do you write?

1:05.1

I say about 200 emails a day.

1:07.1

Which is kind of what we all do at this point.

1:10.1

I always actually answer that I'm a trader.

1:13.1

Even though I own restaurants in a software company now,

1:17.1

I still have the mindset and still consider myself to be an options trader.

1:22.1

And I don't know.

...

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